By now everyone should be aware that a major crisis is taking place in the bus industry.

The shut down of CityLiner bus services throughout was the major ‘tipping pint’ in a series of crises [TRANSIT: refer to our “No Bus for You” series of posts] that showed the precarious state of public transport and the bus industry – and made it clear that SPAD has lost the plot by focusing on the MRT project rather than revamping & transforming public transport.

However, we need the government, SPAD and Prasarana-RapidKL to acknowledge that their “solutions” are not holistic and not sustainable. The problem is that they are focusing on short-term solutions for the crisis, not long-term solutions that will make public transport work, sustainably and effectively, and most importantly, meet the needs of public transport users.

And this, ladies & gentlemen, is the biggest problem. Everyone talks about fixing public transport but all the solutions that are put forward focus on the bus industry, rather than the public transport service. What’s worse is that the ‘solutions’ still fail to consider the needs of the public transport users.

TRANSIT took note of this article which describes plans for another corporate restructuring at KTMB.

It is sad that the Malayan Railway has still not managed to figure out whether it is supposed to be a government agency, corporate entity, or something in between.

TRANSIT remembers earlier corporate restructurings that have happened for KTMB. Well, at least they were started but then they got stalled either because of a lack of government support, an unclear vision, or resistance from workers (among other reasons).

The corporatization of KTM began nearly 2 decades ago but it was never finished. A lack of government funding and deferred maintenance since the corporatization has helped bring KTMB to its knees.

Recently one President of KTMB started an RM1 campaign, promising to take KTMB back to profitability. That campaign died aborning, when the president was quickly replaced (it might have had something to do with his “hybrid” trains).

The most recent KTMB President has talked about restructuring KTMB into a holding company, with various railway service subsidiaries (freight, Komuter, ETS, power systems, maintenance, terminal management, etc). and selling track warrants to other companies interested in providing railway services. He believes that this model will be successful because it has worked in Europe – despite the fact that it has not worked in many European countries and that Malaysia lacks the density that makes railway travel profitable.

We wonder what this latest restructuring will bring for KTMB but we wish to share one important point – KTMB needs to have a clear vision of the kind of transport service provider that it needs to be over the next 10-20 years.

Without that clear vision, this latest restructuring will be as effective as the last ones.

PETALING JAYA: KTM Bhd (KTMB) will undergo a two-year corporate restructuring programme to turn around the ailing national rail operator and a consultant will be hired to manage this, according to the Treasury, in its reply to the Auditor-General’s (A-G) report.

TRANSIT took note of this interesting article in which KTMB has announced plans to improve the facilities at KTM Komuter stations, to help commuters deal with the unacceptable wait times that are plaguing the system.

Now, this is something that TRANSIT had been talking about for some time – and ironically, it took a few years to get the plans in place. And probably even more ironic is that by the time everything is done and taken care of, there will be another 20-30 Komuter trains operating – so the facilities may end up going unused.

TRANSIT took note that KTMB has set up a display at KL Sentral station showcasing the design of the new KTM Komuter train sets, the first of which will arrive on September 25 of this year. The new trains will be branded as “MyKomuter” which is … ok, we won’t comment. Let’s just say that the name is not a surprise (and neither are the 1Malaysia logos on the train).

TRANSIT took note of the fact that the Klang Valley MRT (now referred to as MyRapidTransit) was launched by the Prime Minister at KL Convention Centre on 8 July 2011.

The launching, which took place in the morning and included a ground-breaking ceremony at the Rubber Research Institute and Jalan Cochrane sites, as well as the first singing of the MRT song by Jaclyn Victor and Badri.

Update: At least one wakil rakyat has chosen to speak up so we decided to change the title of our post. Guess who it is? No point, as you already know that it is Tony Pua (since no other wakil rakyat really appear to follow these finance issues, let alone speak up)!

Update: According to this article, the contract has actually been awarded to Colas, instead of the Bombardier-Hartasuma-SNC Lavalin consortium. However, the issues of transparency still stand. See the updated post below!

‘He that pays the piper calls (chooses) the tune’

That phrase is a simple explanation of who has authority in life … it’s often those with the money. TRANSIT takes note that the Finance Ministry (the one “paying the piper”) has ‘called the tune’ for a third time, (overruling a tender-evaluation decision made by Prasarana and awarding contracts to ‘unsuccessful’ companies).

Now the government has overruled Prasarana’s decision on the Kelana Jaya LRT extension, and [TRANSIT: we should have added “apparently” here] awarded the contract to a consortium of Bombardier, Hartasuma and SNC Lavalin – a decision that will increase the cost of the LRT extension, put an additional burden on Malaysian taxpayers for generations to come, and allow foreign companies and their local partners to profit handily on the backs of the Malaysian public.

TRANSIT took note of an announcement from Prasarana that they had eased some of the conditions for pre-qualification for tenders for the MRT project – after being accused of deliberately sidelining Bumiputera contractors.

Prasarana at the time defended themselves, saying that the stringent conditions were meant to ensure that only “genuine, qualified and competent contractors” would be selected.

Saying that, we continue to wonder about the selection of the Independent Checking Engineer – a company rejected by Prasarana apparently chosen after Prasarana was overruled by the government.

At the time Shahril Mokhtar, Group Managing Director, was quoted as saying that it was the government’s money, therefore they had the final say.

No. It is our money. We pay the costs. And if the MRT is not planned, financed built and operated properly, it will be our loss. We, the rakyat, have the final say.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd appears to have caved in to pressure from Malay rights groups today when it revised pre-qualification criteria for several construction packages for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT).

The project owner said contractors who wish to tender for elevated civil works, stations and depots work construction packages will be allowed to form joint ventures (JV) or consortiums among local companies starting from tomorrow.

Update: Commuters and Consumer NGOs comment on the possible shutdown of bus services!

TRANSIT took note of this interesting series of articles detailing how bus services in Peninsular Malaysia have declined (especially in rural and suburban areas) due to the rising cost of fuel, parts and labour, combined with reduced demand.

Long wait: Ramlah Md Ali, 60, and her grandson Mohd Aidil Zamri, three, waiting for a bus to Masjid Tanah in Alor Gajah, some 15km away from their home at Kampung Permatang in Kuala Sungai Baru, Malacca. After 30 minutes, there was still no sign of a bus. — A. MALEX YAHAYA / The Star

6. Article: Cabbies get new uniforms (The Star, 25 April 2011) – Seberang Prai Municipal Councillor Teoh Seang Hooi used his April allowance to purchase uniforms for 17 taxi drivers in Nibong Tebal (at a cost of RM65 each).

7. Article: Fast Exit (NST Streets, 25 April 2011) – The direct link from KL Sentral to Lebuhraya Mahameru is now complete and open to drivers – and hopefully to buses. The article also has some information on plans for a contra-flow lane for buses & taxis on Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Brickfields.